Spotify Turns SXSW House Into Middle School Music Studio!

South By Southwest may have ended almost a month ago, but the inspiring conversations and projects that we uncovered at the festival are still lingering in our minds. Which is why we're so thrilled that one of the most exciting of those projects is officially complete, and we're still in awe of the story how it all came together. Listen in, this one's special.

"At Spotify, we believe everyone should have access to music. In past years, we've worked with different nonprofits during South By Southwest to bring the community into the festival. This year, we wanted to create something long-lasting,” Kerry Steib, Spotify’s Director of Social Impact, told Glamour. Did they ever: For this year’s community improvement project, The Spotify House (a showcase of new music and interactive experiences on the ground in Austin during South by Southwest) partnered with DPR Construction, MINDPOP, Acoustic Spaces, and Rebuilding Together Austin to donate all of their pop-up house materials—artwork, murals, computers, equipment and more—and build a recording studio for the students of Kealing Middle School in Austin (which is made up of students from every district and zip code in the city), only a few blocks away from the festival.

The result? A stunning, brand new (and now open!) music space where students are actually able to integrate their recorded voices into their mixes, and master them using programs now available in the studio. We’d go back to middle school for that.

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Copyright 2014

Copyright 2014

Copyright 2014

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"The students were shocked when they first heard about the new music space,” Kenisha Coburn, the principal of Kealing Middle School, told Glamour. “One student spoke about the career opportunities he is envisioning because of what he is able to do in this new space. Most days, the kids are still recording and producing at least 2 hours after school ends. They’re planning a rap contest that brings in student lyricists who may not be otherwise engaged in music programs on our campus!” she adds. “Music has historically brought people together across cultures around the world in spite of economic, racial and cultural differences.” Reason number #234234 to move to Austin, Texas: middle school campuses like Kealing's.

What moved us about this story wasn't just the task at hand, but how simple and brilliant the idea is—and how easy it for anyone in business to help their community. Building a pop-up shop? Why not donate any leftover materials and supplies to your community. Planning a massive event (we do it at Glamour all the time)? Extend the life of your hard work by gifting event materials to local schools. It’s so easy, but sometimes it takes an inspiring story like this to remind us how powerful it can be. “The space that was created was our dream project, and we’re so excited these partners were able to come together to make it happen!” Coburn told us.